Wolfsberger 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur: Gareth Bale scores and assists in Europa League win
Bale #Bale
Gareth Bale has scored five goals since returning to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho said they had “one foot in the next round” after Gareth Bale inspired them to victory over Wolfsberger in the Europa League last 32 first leg.
Bale crossed for Son Heung-min to head the opener and then cut inside and blasted home their second goal. That was the first time since April 2013 that he scored and assisted a Tottenham goal in the same game.
Lucas Moura added a fine solo goal before half-time in Budapest.
But Michael Liendl’s penalty gave Wolfsberger hope and Christopher Wernitznig hit the bar – before Carlos Vinicius probably killed the tie.
“I don’t consider this an incredible victory, just a good victory that brings good feelings,” said Mourinho. “The plane back will be a different plane than after a defeat.”
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho spoke beforehand about how much he wants to win the Europa League and named a strong team, although Harry Kane was left in London for fitness reasons.
They were excellent in the first half but were much less impressive after replacing Son with Vinicius at half-time.
Wolfsberger were limited opposition, sitting sixth in the Austrian league and in a European knockout game for the first time. The game had to be played six hours away in Budapest, Hungary because of Covid restrictions.
The second leg is next Wednesday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Did Spurs fringe players impress?
Bale and Dele Alli were the notable starters in the line-up for Spurs. Mourinho said beforehand he was worried about the result and not individual performances of fringe players – but he would have been happy with what he saw in the first half.
Bale set up the opener when he received Matt Doherty’s pass before crossing for Son, who matched his personal goal tally of last season with 18.
That was Bale’s first assist for Spurs since April 2013 against Manchester City – before he left for Real Madrid.
Doherty picked out Bale again, but this time the Welshman cut on to his left foot and smashed a powerful effort past the goalkeeper, his fifth goal of a loan spell from Real.
When Moura beat several defenders on a mazy run to score Spurs’ third, it looked as if it could be a rout.
Alli looked in the mood too, with a brilliant nutmeg to create a shooting opportunity although he fired straight at the keeper.
But they looked much less fluent in the second half, with Bale and Alli more peripheral before being replaced.
Mourinho said Bale could feature against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday.
“One of the reasons why he left the pitch by minute 65 was to try to have him available for the next match,” he said.
“By taking him off at that minute we managed to save him a few miles in his legs and probably, I know the match is Sunday at 12pm, but I believe he has a chance to play the match.”
Moussa Sissoko sloppily conceded a penalty which Liendl scored and the hosts looked more assured. Had Wernitznig’s powerful drive off the crossbar gone over the line instead of bouncing on it, it could have been a different tie.
But Vinicius most likely booked Spurs’ place in the next round when he stabbed home Erik Lamela’s flicked header late on.
Kane asked to stay home
Mourinho revealed Kane did not want to risk playing, having recently returned from an ankle problem. He had been due to travel to Hungary.
“He’s an experienced guy that had injuries in the past, he knows his body better than anyone,” Mourinho said.
“He knows that I want him to play every minute of every game, so it’s never a question of a choice.
“I wanted to come here with the best team and the players that could give us more opportunities to win the game and get a good result, but he made the decision based on his feelings.
“Of course myself and the medical department, we agreed with him in giving him this opportunity to take care of his condition, but I believe on Sunday he will be OK and ready.”
Son joins Spurs’ top Euro scorers – match stats
Player of the match
BaleGareth Bale
RZ Pellets WAC
Squad number30Player nameTaferner
Squad number17Player nameStratznig
Squad number10Player nameLiendl
Squad number11Player nameVizinger
Squad number27Player nameNovak
Squad number44Player nameLochoshvili
Squad number9Player nameJoveljic
Squad number22Player nameBaumgartner
Squad number4Player nameScherzer
Squad number24Player nameWernitznig
Squad number31Player nameKofler
Squad number19Player nameSprangler
Squad number3Player nameHenriksson
Squad number6Player namePavelic
Squad number8Player nameDieng
Squad number2Player nameGiorbelidze
Line-ups RZ Pellets WAC
Formation 4-1-3-2
31Kofler
27Novak22Baumgartner44Lochoshvili4Scherzer
19Sprangler
30Taferner10Liendl24Wernitznig
9Joveljic11Vizinger
Substitutes
Tottenham
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Lloris
2Doherty4Alderweireld15Dier33Davies
17Sissoko8Winks
9Bale20Alli27Lucas Moura
7Son Heung-Min
Substitutes
Live Text
Match ends, RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4.
90’+3′
Second Half ends, RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4.
90’+1′
Foul by Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur).
90’+1′
Kai Stratznig (RZ Pellets WAC) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90′
Offside, RZ Pellets WAC. Alexander Kofler tries a through ball, but Cheikhou Dieng is caught offside.
90′
Foul by Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur).
90′
Guram Giorbelidze (RZ Pellets WAC) wins a free kick on the right wing.
88′
Goal! RZ Pellets WAC 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4. Carlos Vinícius (Tottenham Hotspur) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Erik Lamela.
88′
Attempt missed. Erik Lamela (Tottenham Hotspur) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg with a cross.
86′
Attempt missed. Tanguy Ndombele (Tottenham Hotspur) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner. Assisted by Carlos Vinícius.
83′
Offside, RZ Pellets WAC. Michael Liendl tries a through ball, but Cheikhou Dieng is caught offside.
82′
Matt Doherty (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
82′
Foul by Guram Giorbelidze (RZ Pellets WAC).
82′
Steven Bergwijn (Tottenham Hotspur) wins a free kick on the left wing.
82′
Foul by Dominik Baumgartner (RZ Pellets WAC).
81′
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham Hotspur) is shown the yellow card.
81′
Substitution, RZ Pellets WAC. Mario Pavelic replaces Michael Novak.
79′
Attempt blocked. Luka Lochoshvili (RZ Pellets WAC) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Michael Liendl with a cross.
79′
Corner, RZ Pellets WAC. Conceded by Toby Alderweireld.
78′
Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur. Tanguy Ndombele replaces Dele Alli.
